It happens to the best of us, those of us who labor to maintain a personal website: with so many social media outlets around, sometimes the personal blog is the last to receive some love. I used to have plugins here that would automatically repost my posts to whatever site I wanted – but then I started using sites that either don’t play well with repost plugins, or I simply didn’t want to have the same exact content on each site. And so here we are.

In my life as a photographer, things have become very complex in terms of how I share my work these days – but I’m not complaining. After many years of not using Instagram the way many do, I am now happily working on building up my image library over there. (Having a pretty good smartphone camera has made a huge difference) Most of the shots I post there are ones I’ve taken with my phone and processed with Snapseed right on the phone, before I even make it home to my trusty setup with Lightroom and color-calibrated monitors. It’s a great community, one I’m still getting acquainted with.

Then there’s Flickr, the granddaddy of them all. I’ve been a Pro user of Flickr since 2004, and while the volume of interaction has sometimes waned, I still enjoy my connections to the photographers I follow over there, and have even picked up some pretty cool endorsements from photographers I respect. As long as it sticks around, I’ll keep using it.

Facebook has also given me much enjoyment and exposure – admittedly, mostly to my friends, but some folks knew me without realizing how much of a big deal photography is my life, so it’s always a pleasure to post up shots or albums there and see who responds.

I’ve just begun playing around with offering merchandise with my work, such as at Society6 – mugs, rugs, pillows, and the like. It’s gotten me to think about what images work best in these environments and has given me a different kind of focus for some of my subjects.

All this to say – my exposure is plentiful and diverse, and I don’t always get around to posting every single shot or album here in a timely manner, so if you’re reading this (and bless you if you are, I realize I don’t get nearly as much traffic here as I do elsewhere, so thank you for being here), I hope you are also able to find me on these other places, if you frequent them.

In May 2015 I was invited to take some pictures of my good friend Dennis Bunton, aka Ion Driver, who was opening for one of my favorite electronic music producers, Tipper, in a show at the incredible venue called Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. After connecting with the show’s producer, he decided to offer me one of only three all-access photography passes so I could shoot the entire show – and I had a blast! The venue is on a hill so there was a lot of ground to cover, but I was on the move most of the time and had the time of my life.

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Being on the road means you never know what twists and turns will come your way. This one was no different. Our first true outing with Adeline, our popup trailer, yielded some rookie mistakes, underestimates, and other unpredictable results – and we still had a grand time.

For more photos of each leg of the journey, go here. For the post about Day 1, go here.

Day 2 – Santa Cruz – nostalgia on many levels

Victorian House in Santa Cruz

Day 2 for us was an easy drive, with dear friends waiting on the other end in downtown Santa Cruz. It was a wonderful visit. While we knew we would be staying the night with them, what we didn’t know is that we would be put up in a 143 year old well-preserved Victorian house. It’s not often that I get to see such ornate architecture, but to savor every corner, every detail, over the course of almost 24 hours was a real treat. The house is officially a historical landmark, and while it’s situated on a private property and not on any tourbooks, does get rented out from time to time for weddings and other special events. Our friends live in the guest cottage on the property, so my husband and I had the full run of the place. The grand tour was full of oohs and aahhs, and then the following morning, prior to convening for breakfast, I set out with the camera to poke around.

The day was filled with reminiscing, as my friend Amy and I have known each other since we were young children; communing with her husband Karl and their family was easy and enjoyable. Stories followed queries until we were all caught up. It was a delight.

Day 3 – Spring Lake (Santa Rosa) – foggy feast with a friend

Spring Lake in the Fall

Day 3 we were headed to Spring Lake in Santa Rosa, but first my husband David gave me the dime tour of Santa Cruz, as he had lived there for a few years around the turn of the century. It’s such a lovely town. We passed by his former residence and stopped at a local eatery, Emily’s Bakery, which had been a staple of his when he lived there. Drivetime was chock full of recounting old stories from those days. Time passed quickly as we drove up the 1, through Half Moon Bay and across the San Mateo bridge, then passed through Oakland, San Rafael, and onward up to our destination for the night.

Once we arrived, there was just enough time to set up camp, dash to the nearby market for supplies, and get ready to receive David’s longtime friend Alicia who lives 20 minutes away. We had arranged to do a potluck dinner and we had plenty of fresh produce to share, as Amy & Karl had given us plenty from their garden. Peaches, tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, pears…so tasty. There’s nothing like organic produce grown with love. Dinner was a delight, between our offerings (fish, salad) and Alicia’s (homemade veggie chili). It was an early bedtime for us, and the next morning I was up bright & early at 6am to see what the place looked like in the morning.

Spring Lake is a manmade reservoir at the edge of a pretty little neighborhood of Santa Rosa, with a mostly-paved path that surrounds the perimeter of the lake which is frequently populated by joggers, walkers and the like. By the time I made it down to the lake (a short 5-minute walk from our campsite) at 7, there were plenty of people out and about, but the fog was incredibly thick which limited the scope of the shots I was hoping to take on the lake. The still air meant the reflections were pretty reliable and so as I made my way around the lake (3.7 miles), I tried to find a few spots where I could actually see something through the fog.

Day 4 + 5 – Lake Mendocino (Ukiah) – disaster & drought

Meltdown! Remnants of our former wiring

I was looking forward to Day 4 as it would be not only a short drive, but our first destination where we would stay for two nights instead of one. One thing about road trips – when there’s an itinerary and reservations to honor, there isn’t much wiggle room for procrastination. We were making good time packing up and getting ready to head out on the road when disaster struck.

The trailer was all packed up and hitched to the truck, but there must have been a problem with a grounding wire because as soon as David attached the harness that powers the brake & signal lights, a small electrical fire broke out, both at the junction box on the tongue of the trailer and at the deep-cycle battery. Smoke and hot electric smell were enough to make us panic and David did an admirable job of disconnecting things as fast as he could without electrocuting or burning himself. As we surveyed the damage, we could see that practically all the wiring that goes from the harness to the junction box and from there to the battery was melted. Oh, joy. We breathed a sigh of relief, however, as we both realized how fortunate we were that things didn’t get deadlier than they were – the battery could have exploded, the fire could have reached into the wiring in the truck, and so on.

We limped out of there, headed to an RV repair place I’d found on Yelp, without any brake or signal lights on the trailer. Much to our chagrin, the nearest place was closed and every other place we called was booked for 3 weeks. I took a chance and looked up repair places in Ukiah, our next destination, and we had a place to go. The fellow at the repair place, while booked into next month, knew that since we were on the road it was imperative to get the lights fixed so he squeezed us in and made sure we knew his name to mention if we got pulled over (we didn’t). The rest of the afternoon was spent waiting while the apprentice painstakingly replaced all the wiring for the lights. It meant that we would be without power for the rest of our trip (unless we camped somewhere with electrical hookup, which would be few & far between), but since we are used to that it’s not such a tremendous loss.

Once we had that sorted out, it was time to head 15 minutes’ drive down the road to our next destination, Lake Mendocino. I was so very much looking forward to setting up and relaxing after our harrowing day. We had made plans with David’s aunt & uncle who live in Boonville, a half hour drive from us, to join them for brunch the following morning; however when we called & explained what had happened they very graciously offered to meet us in Ukiah somewhere so we didn’t have to get on the road so soon. We met up for lunch and had a lovely, if brief, visit. There were plenty of errands to run in Ukiah related to items we’d forgotten we needed to complete our gear, a visit to the laundromat, a session at a coffeeshop with Internet & power (we had neither at our site), and a grocery run. Ukiah’s an interesting place, where big-name corporate chains sit alongside little mom & pop places, including one we saw which offered hand guns for sale – at a deli. (??)

Lake Mendocino has suffered the drought that has affected much of California and the water levels were at an all-time low. We could see clearly that the boat dock was marooned and much of the foliage was dying out that usually lived underwater. It was a sad state of affairs and I found I wasn’t terribly inspired to take a lot of photos. The lasting imagery of the palpable drought stayed with us, however.

Part of the culture of a road trip camping at campgrounds is meeting people along the way. While we were in Ukiah, we met some folks who had started touring the country in their small RV full-time about 6 months prior. It’s fascinating to talk with people and get a sense for how their own philosophies about being on the road differ and are similar to our own. One adage these folks we met that day has held true for us as a learned lesson from this trip – once you reach critical mass in the stuff you pack both in the car and in the trailer, nothing else can come in unless something else comes out. It’s a mad game of Tetris, one which gets better with more routine and practice.

Day 6 + 7 – Patrick’s Point – our northernmost reach

Moonstone Beach Walk

Day 6 was one of our longest driving days. In most cases the drive would be no more than 3 or so hours a day, but this was a long haul to get to the top tip of our itinerary. A good portion of the journey would take us through the redwoods of Mendocino and Humboldt counties, and through a lot of little towns where there seemed to be a lot of barefoot folks wandering through, hitching rides here and there. The majesty of the redwoods made the long drive worth it, however, and so even though it was a 4+ hour drive, we were in awe most of the way.

We schemed where we would need to stop for ice and produce, and planned to roll through Eureka for these tasks, the last big town before Trinidad, home to Patrick’s Point. Eureka was quite the eyesore, such an industrial town and sadly sporting quite a serious meth and homeless problem. I was curious as we encountered so much of this so I Googled “Eureka homeless problem” and found we were not the only ones noticing this, not by a long shot. I wish the town well in seeking out a tenable solution to what seems to be an unsustainable problem. In the midst of this, however, we found a local natural foods grocer that could have rivaled Whole Foods in its scope, breadth and pricing. Go figure.

20-odd miles north and we were at our destination for the next couple of days – Patrick’s Point in the teeny town of Trinidad. We had a privately owned campground to call home, with power and water hookups (a luxury I’ve come to appreciate, even in the midst of camping). I’d heard about all the beaches in the area so our primary order of business on our full day there was to scope out the local beaches in hopes of finding one that would suit a sunset photography session. I’d seen a greeting card in the store of the campground with a shot someone had taken at Moonstone Beach so that was one of our destinations. It did not disappoint. Many clicks of the camera later, we started our drive back to camp, only taking the scenic way back (a road called Scenic Drive, of course) and came upon even more beauty, and lots of people taking it in. Truly my favorite sunset of the entire trip was here along this coastline.

Day 8 + 9 – Nestled among the redwoods

Morning on Eel River

The stretch of Highway 101 that is called the Redwoods Highway is breathtaking as you wend your way through these centuries-old trees. There were very few pieces of our trip where we backtracked along the same route coming and going, but this one piece was so enjoyable that we didn’t mind doing it once more. Better yet, our next destination was up in the middle of it all, and ended up being our favorite place we stayed on the entire trip.

We’d Yelped all the places we stayed, but the reviews of the Redwoods River Resort were so positive, and about the manager Millie in particular, that we were excited to arrive. Millie was a gem. Born & raised in Manchester England, having worked at RRR for 15 years, she gives the job a personal touch that was so very welcome. Every encounter when we’d go to the front desk – for ice, for firewood, to rent the pool cues and balls – was a treat, and hugs were genuinely exchanged at the end. RRR was at the tail end of their busy season, and thankfully the camp was quiet so we could hear the wind through the trees. A 350 yard hike down a steep hill took you to the shores of the Eel River, which sadly was at about 1/3 its capacity, another sign of the drought affecting our state. I made it down early in the morning to see what the light and reflections were like, and was chagrined to see that the river was a mere shadow of its former self. Still, the water was reflecting against the trees nicely and the hike back up was a serious workout, so all in all a wonderful way to spend the morning.

Day 10 + 11 – Bodega Bay – our anniversary & the top of Hwy 1

Bodega Bay on a cloudy day

By far one of our favorite drives of the entire trip was the drive from the redwoods to the top of Highway 1 and on down the amazing coastline of Northern California. I’ve been through Big Sur many times and am quite familiar with its ragged beauty, but to witness the twists and turns of first the redwoods and then the coast of this section of California was like nothing else I’d ever seen. Granted it was one of the slowest drives we had to do, with the heavy trailer behind us and very little shoulder, but we were gasping with amazement at every turn nonetheless. I was so enamored of the drive (as the passenger) that I started holding my camera steady through the moonroof of the truck and setting the exposure for a second, which lent itself to an eerie quality of motion. For a look at the series of in-motion shots that I took, check out this album on Flickr.

This travel day also happened to be our actual wedding anniversary so we were feeling quite tender and even stopped for a bottle of champagne in a cute little romantic town called Westport (which I hope we can return to) before the roads started getting pretty hairy with twists and turns that gave Big Sur a run for their money in terms of a challenging yet beautiful drive. Clouds turned into fog as we neared our destination, Bodega Bay, so by the time we arrived the visibility was down to only a 100 yards or so.

Our good friend Dan, who lives in LA and was an integral part of our wedding day last year, just so happened to be visiting his kids near Bodega Bay while we were there, so we invited him to come join us at the campfire, and the following day we were treated to a personally guided tour of the surrounding area. It was a real treat to see a new place through the eyes of someone who has spent quite a lot of time there – very different from the rest of our exploring. I’m certain we wouldn’t have found half of the places he took us to if we were on our own. It was a feast for the eyes – the socked in foggy coast, the blazingly hot & sunny mountains nearby, the tiny town of Occidental in the redwoods where his kids live, and the Russian River…all so very diverse and equally as enjoyable.

Day 12 – Time in the big city & extremely social 24 hours

Day 12 was our busiest day, adhering to the schedule of others. No complaints here – we had some wonderful visits with friends and family alike – but the whirlwind pace meant that the camera did not come out at all! The drive from Bodega Bay to San Francisco was another astoundingly beautiful drive – along the Pacific Coast Highway, past Tomales Bay (we are SO coming back!) and up into Mill Valley by way of some seriously hairpin turns. Those turns can be challenging enough in a regular car, but towing our trailer behind meant an extra 2000 pounds of weight and turns are not as easy. Thankfully, David drove the truck like a champ and we made it to Mill Valley in one piece. First up was a visit with David’s cousin Eric, a cheery reunion, while we enjoyed a leisurely lunch at a spot in his neighborhood. This gave us enough time to skip across town to East Bay where we were meeting up with our friends Dusti & Craig at their place in Oakland. Dealing with traffic and parking was so very different from the remote areas of coast and forests we’d come from, but handle it we did. After a luxurious shower and some much-needed Internet time to catch up on emails, it was time to meet up with more friends and walk to a delicious sushi & sake dinner in the heart of Oakland. Such a feast! Great company too, but the amazing food had a predictable effect on me and the early riser part of me was in bed and asleep before 11, while our hosts took off to spend the evening watching the lunar eclipse from the comfort of a hot tub. Would that we could have joined them, but we had our own pace to keep and it wasn’t in the cards.

Day 13 + 14 – Big Sur, we love you

Fog Bank at Big Sur

The following morning, after gathering some supplies, it was off to brunch with a grade-school chum of David’s, Lisa, at another culinary highlight of a spot in Berkeley. (The foodie in me was well-satiated) After a good deal of reminiscing and storytelling, it was time to bid our fond farewells and hitch up the trailer to head south toward Big Sur, what ended up being our final camping destination. We barely managed to make it through San Jose before the commuter traffic took over, made our way westward via Monterey, and began the familiar drive southward into some of the most iconic and beautiful coastline in all of America. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve driven this stretch of the coastline, but I never tire of it. Our campsite for the following two days was in Plaskett Creek, which is toward the southern part of Big Sur, so we had the enormity of the dramatic cliffs to traverse. As per usual, it did not disappoint, and I took plenty of shots over the next few days.

The reminders about the drought were ever-present, however, as the campground announced everywhere that the water had been shut off at the sinks in all the restrooms in an effort to conserve water. It was a subject of discussion among all the campers there. Of all the places we camped, Plaskett Creek was surely the most populated – not only is Big Sur a draw year-round anyway, there was also the Big Sur Jade Festival that was imminently about to take place, right next door to the campground. The place was abuzz with jade traders and others, and we enjoyed meeting many of our neighbors. One lovely man, there with his 6-year-old son and a monk-like hitchhiker from Italy he’d picked up the day before, became fast friends with us and was even moved to give us a heart-shaped piece of rose quartz crystal as an anniversary gift. The Italian traveler was lovely as well, and will likely be coming to visit sometime in the next few weeks as he makes his way down the California coast. Our home is welcome to him.

Day 15 +16 – coming in for a gentle landing

Our last camping destination was supposed to be San Simeon, but as we emerged from the last of the rugged Big Sur coastline, both David and I had the same thought occur – since we were headed to my parents’ farm (and its relatively luxurious quarters) the following night, what if we forfeited our reservation at San Simeon and kept driving into Santa Ynez, to spend two nights in the comfort of family before descending back into our lives? We laughed about the synchronicity of our thoughts and a quick phone call to Mom confirmed that all was well with us arriving a day ahead of schedule. Our subsequent lunch at an exquisite restaurant in Cambria had us in a relaxed mindset as we knew our travels would be coming to a graceful end shortly. A couple more hours south and we managed to arrive just in time to honor cocktail hour. Hot showers, real beds, and home-cooked meals awaited us and made for the best kind of decompression we could have asked for. It was a perfect end to a quite perfect adventure!

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Ever since we were gifted a popup trailer last year for our wedding, we’ve been wanting to take a proper road trip with it. Our popup, Adeline, has taken us in style to a music festival and a destination wedding, but we’d been wanting to travel with her for pure camping pleasure, with no stimulating social events driving the experience. Of all the destinations we discussed, the one we kept circling around was to drive up into Northern California and see as much of the coastline as possible. Thanks to the handy folks over at Roadtrippers, we plotted out our journey and spent the last few months prepping for it in so many ways.

Adeline, while road-worthy as a glorified tent when we took ownership, will require some fundamental repairs and replacements to bring her to her fully realized state. We didn’t quite get everything done that we wanted for this trip, but got a good start. New flooring, cabinets painted, and a slew of other behind-the-scenes fixes took place. The moment is upon us – we have begun!

Our first night was a shortened one for us, given how long the days leading up to our departure were. 12 hour work days blended with late night packing & assembling sessions, so by the time we hit the road (four hours behind schedule) we were barely able to stay awake for the drive. Thankfully the plan has been to never have to drive more than 3-4 hours per day (and some places we’ll stay more than one night) so when we arrived to our first stop in Morro Bay, we had enough sunlight to set up the popup – but decided to “rough it” and forego setting anything else up. I took a brief break from setting up to run to the shore in hopes of catching the sunset – and missed it by mere minutes.

(shot taken with phone camera – not enough time to grab the “big” camera)

Dinner was a simple chickpea & spinach stew, cooked inside the trailer as it was rather windy outside. I don’t think we’ll be cooking actual food in the trailer again unless it rains – the smell of onions lingered into this morning!

Sleep was luxurious after the manic pace of the last few days at home, and when I awoke at 6am (as per usual), I felt rested. The bed was cozy warm, but the shoreline beckoned – if I had to miss the sunset here, I was bound and determined to catch the sunrise and see what it did against the main feature of this beach – Morro Rock.

I donned a few layers and broke out the “big” camera and found my way out to the beach from the campground, as my camping neighbors started building their morning fires. The smell of wood burning was a nice detail to the crisp air of the morning. I was not disappointed by the view, and set up to take shots of the sunrise on the rock. I’m pretty happy with the results.

I’ve started an album over on Flickr that will be my repository for all shots that make the cut from this trip. Come check em out – hope you like them!

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Ah, summer. Living in Southern California, sometimes it feels like summer is perpetually here, so it’s refreshing to get out and see other parts of the world which DON’T have the privilege of mild weather year-round. This past July I had an opportunity to join some friends on a privately owned small island in Vermont, in the middle of a huge lake called Lake Memphremagog. Right up by the US/Canadian border, it was truly a departure from the chaparral and deserts of California that I know and love so well. The island was off the grid, which made it an especially sweet treat for me, someone who makes her living from digital devices. There was far more venturing out into the woods, laughing & telling stories by campfire, and enjoying the silence with the wind through the trees. A true “reset”.

No sooner had I landed than I had to explore with my camera and I was richly rewarded. If you’d like to see what I saw, come have a look.

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A friend invited us to come take in the fireworks from a deck right on the ocean in Malibu…there was a barge that was anchored off the shore, just in front of us, so it lent itself to a phenomenal front-row-seat perspective. I played around with exposure settings so I could paint with light on some of them. Inspiring! Head over to Flickr to see the whole set.

Here’s a sample:

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Recently I took a vacation to one of my very favorite spots on the planet: the Big Island of Hawaii. Having lived there briefly in 2005, I have always felt like I’ve left a piece of my heart there; when the oppportunity arose to take my beloved there for his first time and share with him the places and environment that I held so dear, I jumped at the chance. He further surprised me with a marriage proposal (which I have accepted with joy) and so now this trip has an even more special place in my memories.

I’ve uploaded the entire set of shots to a set on Flickr and you’ll also find selected photos added to various galleries on my portfolio. Aloha!

November went by far too fast for my tastes. There we were, celebrating Halloween, and seemingly in the blink of an eye Thanksgiving has come and gone and we’re staring down the barrel at the end of 2011. How’d that happen?

It’s been a year since I had my photo show, which affords me a chance to look back and contemplate the state of my photographic life. I had no lofty goals in mind for this passion of mine; just a chance to share the bits of this world that I happen to come upon through my lens. It’s been a rewarding and often humbling experience.

Recently I became enamored of the photographic community over on Google+, which at the moment seems to make up the bulk of the stimuli I’m experiencing over there. Casually participating in conversations with newbies and pros alike, it’s been a revelation to me to at last feel like I’ve found my peers. (Nothing personal to you, Flickr community; I still love you too)

In working to reshape the ways in which I share my work, and frankly, to make it more accessible to those who might actually want an image of mine hanging on their wall, I am pleased to announce that I have restructured my pricing for all my print work and have adjusted my online store accordingly. I enjoyed a small boon of sales last year surrounding my show, and while my main focus has not been on selling my work, I can’t deny the deep satisfaction in knowing someone who likes my work enough to want to invest in it. And so it goes.

If you’re at all inclined, head on over to my store to see what’s offered. There are the usual prints, along with gallery wraps, floating prints for the wall, and desk stands. (Those floating pieces are so cool…I’m thinking I may want one for myself soon!) I’ve expanded the galleries a bit, adding shots I had previously kept private, and moving things around so that they reflect the galleries I keep around the Web on Facebook, Flickr and Google+. Please feel free to leave a comment on a shot or a gallery if something strikes your fancy. I’d love to hear from you!

I’ve been allowing my DJ life to simmer on the back burner a bit in the last couple of months, after my flurry of activity at the end of the summer. I worked hard on synchronizing my photographic expression, but now it’s time to return to a sense of balance, and I have a few delicious gigs coming up that are worth mentioning. At the moment, they are:

When it comes to my DJ mixes, I’ve always maintained a Creative Commons license. It’s made sense to me, as my only objective is to spread the beautiful music I find as much as possible. The music heals me and so I hope it does the same for others who listen. I make no money from the mixes, as they are for promotional purposes only, and the artists whose music I play seem to be happy with the extra promotion they receive. A win-win situation, in my book.

When it comes to my photography, for the longest time I adopted a different attitude. A walled garden. Exclusivity. All Rights Reserved. I’ve had an epiphany about this, and have changed my copyright accordingly. From now on, all my photos will be shared publicly with a Creative Commons license, whether it’s on Flickr, Zenfolio, Facebook, Google+ or wherever. It’s incredibly liberating to have made this change, but I want to explain myself further.

In the years I’ve been online (first time was 1990, in the CompuServe days), community has always excited me. I can remember in the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, when all long distance phone service was knocked out for days, I was most interested in getting word to my out-of-town family and friends that I was OK, that I had survived.

View of my office and into kitchen showing the 1994 post-quake chaos

Since only local calls were allowed, I dialed into CompuServe and into a message board where I had found a sense of community, and asked if anyone would be willing to call my people local to their area to pass along a message. Instantly I had volunteers from Central California, the UK and New York who managed to call everyone on my list and put my loved ones’ fears to rest about my status. I was so grateful and cultivated a deep appreciation for how integrated an online community can be to one’s personal life. I’ve never stopped participating in online communities, and over the years have even become an administrator or moderator for several of them, and now offer services to my tech clients to help them manage their presence on many of the most popular social networks.

Fast-forward to the present. I’ve managed to find my music community online, in places like SoundCloud, Facebook and Last.fm, but had barely established a presence on Flickr, faithfully uploading images on a regular basis but not really reaching out beyond it. Along came Google+ which has a healthy presence of photographers, pro and amateur alike. I rediscovered one of my favorite travel photographers, Trey Ratcliff, whose work has graced my desktop many a time. I’ve already made myself familiar with his various tutorials on his blog, and happily shared many of his shots through Facebook with friends who are now also instant fans; but it was an article he wrote about watermarks (and his refusal to use them) along with a talk he gave at Google about Artists on the Internet that really inspired and motivated me to make the change away from All Rights Reserved. I resonate deeply with this philosophy.

Why do I take photos and decide to share them online? When I really examined this (prompted by the interview I had with Allison Outschoorn of The Writing Grove, who skillfully crafted my photographer’s bio), I found that my primary intention is to remind people of the beauty that exists in our world. So often we’re bombarded by images of what’s wrong, what’s horrifying, what’s evil. It makes for sensational headlines in traditional media outlets (which I’m happy to say are rarely ever in my sphere of reading or watching), but it can leave one with a sense that we’re going down the drain without much redeeming qualities left. My opinion is that it’s simply not true. While it is important, of course, to be aware of important geopolitical shifts and events taking place on the planet (uprisings, natural disasters, crimes against humanity), it is equally important to savor all that is good in our world, whether it be majestic natural beauty, or stories of how people help people in times of need, or particular human achievements. It’s essential to my personal well-being to maintain the balance, and so I often choose to take photos that somehow illustrate this, from the sublime to the silly.

This is also a guiding philosophy for me in why I choose to play the music that I do as a DJ. Music can be such a healing force in one’s life, and in some cases can even act as a catalyst for change, whether it’s on a personal or global level.

As such, feedback from my communities and the world at large is a vital adjunct to my decision to be “out there” on the Internet with my pursuits. With this in mind, it makes far more sense to me to open up the sharing possibilities that come with a Creative Commons license, while still protecting myself from attempts to profit from my work without appropriate compensation. My work is still available in print in limited edition series, for those who wish for exclusivity; however if someone simply wants to use my work as wallpaper, or in a relevant blog post for personal use, or what have you, that someone is free to do so now without additional consideration.

A dear friend and fellow photographer, Joe was remarkable for not only his eye, but his entire philosophy of making every day of his life count. He knew his time was limited, due to a degenerative condition; his gusto for exploring new realms was commendable. Most recently, in October/November 2010, Joe returned to Ghana for the fourth time, to capture its essence and to bring back hand-carved djembe drums for good friends. Shortly after his return, Joe’s health declined rapidly and he died in December.

When I had my own first photography show at Whole Foods last November, Joe made a point of coming to the opening reception, even though he was literally on his way home from the airport and jetlagged. It meant a lot to me to have his support. My partner, Dave, arranged for Whole Foods to host a retrospective of Joe’s work, including some of the shots from his recent trip to Ghana. I’ve been honored to lend assistance to this project, and Joe’s work will be on display through May 18. If you’re in the Venice area and would like to see some beautiful work, stop by during Whole Foods’ operating hours, 7am-10pm 7 days a week.